O Lord, how great are Thy works! And Thy thoughts are very deep. Psalm 92:5 KJV
How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep. Psalms 92:5 NASB
He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. Psalm 103:7 KJV
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. Psalms 103:7 NASB
To know something of the greatness of the work of Calvary is not only life’s most vital knowledge, but it is also soul-thrilling and emancipating. But to know the thoughts behind that work, is to reach the greatest knowledge which life can afford, for it is nothing short of knowing the heart of God!
Just as Moses was privy to the ways of Jehovah, a knowledge which the average Israelite did not have, so the enlightened believer has been instructed in the ways of God. Paul bathed his soul in the wonder of it all. Bend your ear to hear the outpouring of his doxology: “O the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Rom 11:33).
Survey with me for a moment the greatness of Calvary’s work. It has put away sin (Heb 9:26), provided a propitiation for all (Rom 3:25), displayed God’s righteousness (Rom 3:25), and love (John 3:16). It has undone the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), broken down a middle wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14), and ushered in a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). In His cross the Lord Jesus made an open display of the principalities and powers, triumphing over them by it (Col 2:15).
Heaven, earth, and hell have all been touched by the work of Calvary. Its result reaches from time into eternity. No other work of men has ever reached such monumental proportions as this.
In earthly realms, men at times accomplish great feats, whether in terms of legislation, personal accomplishments or acts to benefit others. While the deeds are noteworthy, if we were enlightened as to the motives behind them, the lustre of the feats would be tarnished and the glory dimmed. But when we consider God’s works and motives, it is far different.
The Word of God takes us beyond the work to the ways of God, from the cross to the character of God which motivated the cross! Naturally, we think of His love first and foremost. In a sense, divine love is the truth in which all the other virtues which led to the sacrifice of Calvary are enclosed. All of the “deep thoughts” of God issue from, flow forth in profusion, from His heart of love.
It was love that turned His thoughts toward us in a past eternity (I speak as a man imprisoned in time). Those thoughts never had a beginning. We sing, and rightly so, of “eternal thoughts of love to me.” There was a Lamb, foreordained before time began. There never was a moment in a past eternity when He was not the Lamb Who would be led to the slaughter. When the divine fiat brought a universe into existence, it was with the full consciousness that here was the stage upon which the mighty sacrifice would be made.
Think of the “deep thoughts” of His mercy and longsuffering toward each of us. Were it not for Calvary, justice would have demanded at every moment our condemnation and doom; mercy was in the “deep thoughts” of God. Trace out His thoughts of goodness, kindness, and gentleness with us. And what of His grace which super-abounded toward us (Rom 5:20)?
Consider the wisdom of God as displayed in salvation’s mighty work. In apparent weakness and folly, the power and wisdom of God have been displayed. We can only wonder and worship!
The Lord Jesus has revealed as no book or lecture could ever depict, the depth and the riches of God’s thoughts toward us. Here are no self-serving motives, no hidden agendas for personal gain or fame. Here are “deep thoughts” worthy of the keenest intellect, thoughts that will be continually unfolded to us to enhance our worship for all eternity.
Consider:
Trace further, more of the results of the work of Calvary and of the ways of God as seen in that work.